Friends "Lift" Up Local Family

Brixx Pizza provided the location, and all food and drinks for the entire afternoon.

Greensboro -- The story of the Kelly family begins in 2002. If you lived in the Triad then, you may remember the story. The family car broke down on the interstate. With their son, Davis, still in the car, a truck hit it. He didn't survive.

While that would be too much for many families to handle, the Kellys have gotten more bad news. Karen, the mom, was diagnosed with ALS about 6 months ago. It is also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Their strong faith and amazing friends helped them through the first tragedy. The same things are getting them through this one. Buddy Milks, a friend on the family, decided to have a fundraiser. The goal was to raise enough to buy a lift for the van they were going to buy. That would be $5,000-7,000.

Milks got a few of his friends together and began planning. They talked to Susan Willis from Brixx Pizza. She decided to donate ALL of the food and drinks for the day. It grew and grew.

By the day of the event, the 200 people they expected, turned out to be 600. Some were close friends with the Kellys. Others just heard their story and wanted to help. The lift ended up being donated. That meant the $34,000 raised could all go straight to the purchase of the van.

The Kellys just want to say thank you. Shane Kelly, Karen's husband said,"Just the amount of people that showed up and the kind words and everyone telling me and Karen and Sophie how much they cared for us and thought about us. It's humbling. It's unbelievable".

Karen said, "The Lord gives us what we need to help us get through when we have adversity. He has brought us all these wonderful people and we wouldn't have been able to do it without them".

Karen also said, "I would just love to say thank you to all of the people that have helped us. Whether they've brought us a meal or contributed money to the walk or to the fundraisers. Whether they've come over here and helped me with a task around the house, walked our dog, done an errand for me, or just praying for our family. Every single one of those people, whether I know them or not, are our heros. They are what's brought us this far and will continue to keep us going".